The cams of a camshaft are used for valve control in internal combustion engines. Here the movement of the cam is transmitted to the valve using a valve control lever, for example a rocker lever or rocker arm. In general the valve control lever includes a base body that is rotatably supported about an axis and that includes a receptacle for connecting to a camshaft connecting element, which receptacle is rotatably attached via pins to the valve control lever.
Such a pin is generally cylindrical and includes a lubricant distribution device in order to provide lubrication between the pin and the camshaft connection element and/or the valve control lever. For this purpose the pins can include lubricant channels fluidly connected to one another, which distribute lubricant to elements rotatably supported with respect to one another. Furthermore it has proved to be advantageous if not only a lubricant channel but also a lubricant reservoir is formed in the pin in order to provide a valve control that is as maintenance-free as possible. This lubricant reservoir is usually provided via a blind bore formed in the pin.
However, it is disadvantageous with this conventional approach that the blind bore must be reworked in a very expensive manner in order to remove drilling burrs formed during the bore drilling process, in particular at the bottom or base of the blind bore. When lubricant flows around the burrs, metal particles may be dislodged that are then carried via the lubricant to the to-be-lubricated points. This may increase wear and can lead to a total failure of the valve control.
A further problem with the conventional pins is the difficulty involved in applying a coating to the pins. The known pins must be individually introduced into a coating chamber in an upright position, i.e., standing on one of their end walls, in order to harden their outer wall. Here it must be absolutely prevented that the pins contact one another at their outer walls and maintain a sufficient distance to one another so that a uniform coating can be applied to the pins. This method is very complex and cost-intensive.